1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inflatable curtain designed to protect the occupants of a vehicle during a side impact collision. More specifically, the invention relates to a device that reduces the inflation time of the inflatable curtain by providing column support during inflation.
2. Description of Related Art
In low-speed automobile collisions, occupants wearing safety belts are generally prevented from impact with the car's interior objects (i.e., the windshield, instrument panel, or steering wheel). In more severe collisions, however, even belted occupants may impact the car's interior objects because their forward motion is so great that they contact these objects before the belts can bring them to a complete stop.
Conventional air bag systems were developed to supplement safety belts by reducing the chances of contact with the vehicle's interior objects. In addition, to the extent that such contact could not be prevented, conventional air bag systems were designed to distribute the impact more evenly over an occupant's head and torso.
A conventional air bag system typically consists of three parts: the air bag, the sensor, and the inflator. The air bag is typically made of a thin nylon fabric, which is folded into the steering wheel or dashboard. After impact of sufficient severity, sensors in the vehicle detect the sudden deceleration and send an electrical signal to the inflator. A chemical compound (e.g., sodium azide, alcohol, hydrogen, compressed argon gas, or the like) sealed inside the inflator then undergoes a rapid chemical reaction that produces primarily nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas inflates the air bag. As an occupant contacts the air bag, the nitrogen gas is vented through openings in the sides of the bag, thus absorbing the motion of the occupant's impact.
Vehicle manufacturers and suppliers have developed side impact air bag systems. These air bag systems, which are commonly referred to as “inflatable cushions” or “inflatable curtains,” may be mounted within a housing located in the vehicle over the doors, and may inflate during an accident to cover the windows, doors, and lateral surfaces of the vehicle. The inflatable curtain may also be connected to tethers that extend from the ends of the inflatable curtain to anchoring points within the vehicle. These tethers may exert tension on the inflatable curtain to help maintain the position of the inflatable curtain relative to the occupants of the vehicle.
Tethers may provide column support to the inflatable curtain during inflation. In other words, tethers may help maintain the position of the inflatable curtain during inflation, which tends to assist inflation of the inflatable curtain. Tether systems known in the art have a number of disadvantages, however. Packaging the tethers is complicated and expensive. In addition, adding tethers to an inflatable curtain is highly labor intensive, as it may involve a great deal of sewing.
Accordingly, it would be an advancement in the art to provide a support device, besides a tether, that can provide column support to a tetherless inflatable curtain and reduce its inflation time. It would be a further advancement in the art to provide a support device that can provide additional column support to an inflatable curtain having one or more tethers. Additionally, it would be an advancement in the art to provide a support device that can be added to an inflatable curtain with minimal expense. The present invention provides these advancements in a novel and useful way.